The alleged mastermind of a kidney-harvesting ring in India, arrested in Nepal Thursday, is denying any wrongdoing.
Amit Kumar, 40, was arrested at a hotel in Sauraha, shortly after he checked into a resort hotel in the remote Chitwan National Park at the foot of the Himalayan mountains.
Kumar was identified by a hotel employee who recognized him from Indian television broadcasts seen in Nepal. Police arrived shortly after and made the arrest.
Kumar was reportedly carrying a suitcase full of euros and American dollars at the time of his arrest. Nepalese officials also found a bank draft for 936,000 euros and $125,000 in cash.
When brought before reporters in Katmandu, Kumar denied any wrongdoing: "I can only say that I have not committed any crime, " he said when asked about his role in the harvesting ring. "That is wrong, absolutely wrong. I have not duped anybody."
Police allege Kumar, whose real name is Santosh Raut, is the mastermind of an underground kidney transplant network in Gurgaon, an affluent suburb of New Delhi.
Authorities allege Kumar and his team either tricked poor labourers into selling a kidney, or drugged them, or in some cases even forced them at gunpoint to part with one. The ring is accused of illegally taking the kidneys of as many as 500 people, mainly farmers and labourers.
The organs were then allegedly provided to wealthy foreigners who paid about $50,000 for a transplant.
Â鶹´«Ã½ interviewed one man who says he was duped by the man dubbed "Dr. Horror."
Akram Raza Khan, 29, alleges he was tricked 10 years ago into a checkup that he was told would lead to a new job. He told CTV's Paul Workman that he recognized one of the doctors who allegedly stole his right kidney in a news story. He says it was Amit Kumar, only back then he was known as Sanjay.
Interpol issued a red notice for Kumar's arrest last week, a rarely used high-alert arrest warrant sent to police agencies around the world.
India's foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters that India is now seeking Kumar's extradition from Nepal. He added there is a close relationship between the countries and that he expects the extradition to occur quickly.
Police Commissioner Mohinder Lal, the chief investigator in Gurgaon, told The Canadian Press that Kumar will be charged with "dealing in human organs, illegally transplanting kidneys and putting life in danger.''
But first, Kumar will be charged and tried in Nepal for violating the Foreign Currency Act by not declaring his money. If he is convicted he could be jailed for up to four years.
Kumar had managed to evade police for more than 14 years. Arrested in 1993 for taking part in illegal kidney transplants in Mumbai, he jumped bail and changed his name, police say.
Indian police say Kumar is not a qualified surgeon and may not even be a medical doctor.
Kumar owns a home worth more than $600,000 in Brampton, Ont. where his wife, Poonam, and two sons live. But he hasn't been seen in the area for months, neighbours say.
In an interview with the Toronto Star, Poonam, 28, insisted her husband of 10 years had done nothing wrong.
While admitting that she knows virtually nothing about her husband's work, Poonam said she did not believe any of the allegations against her husband. She said the first time she heard anything about his alleged involvement with kidney transplants was while watching the news.
"Everyone is calling him the 'kingpin' and 'lord' and these things, but he didn't do anything wrong," Poonam said in an interview conducted in Hindi.
She added that she has not spoken to her husband since the manhunt for him began in earnest in India two weeks ago.
Police raided the operation's main clinic in Gurgaon in January and broke up the ring, which involved at least four doctors, several hospitals, and a car outfitted as a laboratory. The raid also found five foreigners -- three Greeks and two Americans of Indian descent -- who authorities believe were waiting for transplants.
Many Indians say they are shocked by the scale of the alleged transplant ring, but not surprised. India is a country where there are people who are so poor that some see selling a kidney as a way just to survive.
Interpol and Indian police are continuing to search for Kumar's brother, Jeevan Rawat, who remains at large.
